Governor’s race, ballot measures push voters to the polls
Gilroy – They voted at churches, fire stations and schools in South County, but their minds were elsewhere: Sacramento, D.C. and even Iraq. For many voters in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin, local issues were a footnote to state races, with national implications. Some said they were raring to vote out the governor; others wanted him in. Franklin Mello, 59, said he was voting against anyone who’d voted for the war.
“We’ve got to get out of Iraq,” said Mello, who voted Tuesday morning at Chestnut Fire Station in Gilroy. “I’ve already lost a niece and a nephew over there. I can’t go to another funeral … It’s breaking my heart.”
In Morgan Hill, voters were intent on the race between Republican incumbent Richard Pombo and Democratic challenger Jerry McNerney. As of press time, Pombo was fighting to retain his Republican seat as Democrats took control of the House of Representatives.
“Checks and balances are important in any kind of power structure,” said Jason Cosetti, a Morgan Hill resident, as he stood in line waiting to vote. “No matter what party you support, you still want to have other voices in there because it increases debate.”
State ballot measures attracted others to the polls. Proposition 85, which would notify parents 48 hours before their child had an abortion, pushed parents and social workers to the ballot box; alternative energy, restricting sex offenders, and replacing aging infrastructure moved others.
Morgan Hill voter Jan Smith called Proposition 86 “a no-brainer.” The measure would impose a cigarette tax to fund health care, health insurance for children and tobacco prevention programs. In San Martin, John Wolfinbarger said the proposal unfairly targeted cigarette smokers. His main concern, however, was ousting Gov. Schwarzenegger, who he said would gut pension plans for retired public employees.
“I wouldn’t vote for him to be a dog catcher,” Wolfinbarger said.
A statewide Field Poll predicted voter turnout at 51.5 percent of registered voters: if proven correct, it would be the second lowest midterm turnout ever. The Secretary of State estimated that participation would be slightly higher, at 55 percent. Yet some South County precincts said turnout was high. Lines formed early at Sunrise Fire Station in Gilroy.
“You hear things about low voter turnout,” said Stephanie Held, a Sunrise Station poll worker, “but people in this area are clearly very interested in voting.”
High numbers of absentee voters left other stations quiet until evening, when voters left the office for the polls. By 6pm, less than 100 voters had cast ballots at Chestnut Fire Station, where 381 people were registered.
“Gilroy is a bedroom community – everyone commutes in the morning,” explained poll worker Marshall Evans, who was working at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Mantelli Drive. “We’re expecting it to heat up around 4pm.”
At a polling station in John and Nancy Baptiste’s garage on Serene Drive in Morgan Hill, only 180 votes were cast by 2:30pm; by 5:45pm, however, the line trailed down the driveway and into the street, where voters appeared resigned to the wait.
Even in 2004, said John Baptiste, the line wasn’t this long.
“I don’t remember them being halfway down the block!” he said.
Likewise, as the sun set, more than 20 people faced an hour-long wait to vote at Gilroy High School. A lengthy ballot and voting machine flubs stretched waits into the evening.
“We just called the office to see if they can bring some more voting machines so we can expedite things here,” said Albert Prez, a volunteer field inspector who oversaw eight Morgan Hill polling stations. “It takes a typical voter 10 to 15 minutes.”
The wait was worth it, voters said: to shape the House, to support or snuff a proposal, or just to make sure their voices were heard. That’s what moved Juan Mungia, who cast his ballot Tuesday morning, at South Valley Community Church.
“If I vote,” he said, “then I’ve got a right to bitch.”
